House approves TRS benefit increase

SB 10, the bill to increase retiree benefits, passed the House on its initial vote (final vote expected Monday). The House and Senate approaches to benefit increases are very different, and the two versions of SB 10 will need to be reconciled through the conference committee process.

Several amendments were attempted, but failed:

• Rep. John Bryant proposed an amendment that would make the cost-of-living adjustments apply to retirees who retired prior to Dec. 31, 2021, rather than 2020.
• Rep. Bryant also attempted to increase the amounts of the cost-of-living increases so that they would range from 6-10%, instead of the current 2-6%.
• Rep. Bryant's third try would have increased the state's contribution from the 9% required in the bill to 9.75%.
• Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer proposed an amendment that would have delayed the increase in active member contributions to 2026.

After final passage through the House (expected Monday) the bill will return to the Senate, which is expected to reject the House version and request the appointment of a conference committee.